UPDATE: BHP Says It Has No Plans To Exit Nickel Business

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) said Tuesday it has no plans to exit its nickel business, countering a media report that it could be considering selling mines in Australia and Colombia.

"We have absolutely no plans to exit nickel," a spokeswoman for the miner said.

Aside from the sales of Ravensthorpe and Yabulu refinery, the miner has made some recent, non-fundamental changes to its nickel portfolio.

The spokeswoman confirmed BHP is withdrawing from a nickel mining venture in the Philippines following a dispute with its local partner.

"We have signed a share and asset purchase agreement with Asiaticus Management Corp. (Amcor) to divest our 40% interest in the Hallmark deposit to Amcor," she said.

At the same time, this month BHP agreed to extend an existing offtake agreement with Western Australian nickel miner Western Areas Ltd.

The miner has sold its Ravensthorpe nickel laterite project and its Yabulu nickel refinery in Australia this year and has raised concerns about the emergence of nickel pig iron from China on prices.

But Chief Executive Marius Kloppers said in August that, while nickel pig iron has changed the dynamics of the nickel market, the company has reconfigured its portfolio of nickel assets and is committed to the business and will consider growing it in the future.

-By Alex Wilson, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2094; [e-mail]

(Elisabeth Behrmann in Sydney contributed to this article)